


childhood blues

by parkers



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Love Confessions, M/M, POV Third Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-28
Updated: 2015-03-28
Packaged: 2018-03-20 02:27:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3633282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parkers/pseuds/parkers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>there's a saying that, if, from this hill, you watch the sky while the sun is setting for 51 days, your love will be reciprocated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	childhood blues

**Author's Note:**

> very, very heavily based off of [this song](https://youtu.be/arQ4oy66F3Y)

[1]

“If, from this hill, you watch the sky while the sun is setting for fifty one days, your love will be reciprocated!” Hinata explains with sparkling eyes and hands curled into tiny fists. “So, how about it!”

Tsukishima’s skepticism at Hinata’s excitement is obvious. Following Hinata’s gaze into the summer sky, he sighs and stands behind his friend, one hand in his pocket and the other around his neck. “You done?”

“Hey, don’t be impatient!”

 

“There’s no way _I’d_ believe in such a rumor,” Tsukishima scoffs as he follows Hinata back to his bike. Hinata stiffens, the first signs of his annoyance appearing on his face. “There’s no way! How desperate _are_ you?”

“Could you stop looking at me like – like I don’t know what I’m doing? It’s just a good luck chant, okay?!” Hinata glares at Tsukishima and his exasperated expression. “When I’m desperate, this kind of thing becomes necessary!” It’s a little embarrassing to take Tsukishima, out of all people, with him to do this, but they’re childhood friends, after all. There’s no one else he’d rather take. He’d also take him because – well, that didn’t matter.

“You never listen to what I say,” Tsukishima complains, then grins a little. “You’re such a kid.”

“Hnngh.” Hinata sticks his tongue out and runs off ahead, his bike jingling with every step. “I don’t want to listen to you, since I’ve already decided!” It’s just barely noticeable in the growing darkness, Hinata’s pink cheeks.

But Tsukishima notices, like he always has, and his own cheeks turn red as he runs after Hinata.

 

[4]

_[yo shouyo.]_

_[you’re doing your hw, right?]_

Hinata lifts his head at the sound of his beeping phone, yawns, and digs it out from under his textbook. He never meant for his desk to be so messy, but some things just happen like that! Opening his phone, he frowns at the message.

_[duh!!!]_

He can practically see Tsukishima dissect his lie.

_[really? are you sure you weren’t taking a nap?]_

Hinata cringes, then shakes his head.

_[ofc not !!!!!!!!!]_

_[alright then. remember your eng test tomorrow.]_

Hinata’s halfway through his response when Tsukishima responds again.

_[got to go. sorry.]_

Hinata hastily deletes his message.

_[k!! cya kei!!]_

He sets his phone down, tries to calm down.

It’s so not fair, he thinks as he leans back in his chair.

Somewhere along his way to figure everything out, he realised he fell in love with his childhood friend, out of all people; the one whom he clung on tightly since first grade, the one who’d comforted him through so many heartbreaks already. The same person who teased him all through middle school, who walked him home from school almost every day, was the same person as the one who stole his heart.

It’s such a cliché, damn, yet Hinata never really thought about it until now. He was too busy pining after the sweet upperclassman who shared their lunch with him or that cool guy on the baseball team or the student body president – just after anyone but his shadow.

 

[11]

Tsukishima looks pretty sour waiting, with one hand propping up his chin and the other crammed in his pocket. It’s almost like he’s sulking.

“Honestly!” Hinata sets his hands on his hips. “If you hate it that much, you don’t have to come with me every day! Seriously!” Really, what’s his problem?

“Whatever,” Tsukishima says, sitting up and adjusting his bag. “Let’s just go already.”

“Hey, look at me when you’re talking! Hey!”

 

[13]

“I never thought I’d say it, but math homework is a piece of cake compared to winning over Kei’s heart,” he says to himself.

 

[17]

They’re so close, unnecessarily so for a regular conversation, so quiet and peaceful by themselves. The other boy’s cheeks are slightly flushed, but his eyes are shining as they follow Tsukishima’s. Hinata can tell that Tsukishima doesn’t have the usual barriers up around him. He’s open and relaxed, mouth curled in a tiny smile.

Hinata freezes – he was just walking around the school, didn’t expect this – but quickly recovers, running out before Tsukishima can see him.  

 

It’s not easy to forget though.

 

[21]

Of course Hinata’s changed from his kid self. He’s become more sensitive, more curious, and more of a crybaby, and his feelings are crammed in his throat. He hates how he misses Tsukishima’s smile when he’s alone, how a casual touch on the shoulder sends his heartbeat spiking, how the feelings Tsukishima used to make fun of are now pointed in his direction.

He’d gather small pieces of courage over these fifty-one days, hoping his feelings can reach that orange sky, and eventually, one day, he’d get Tsukishima to say yes on that hill, somehow.

 

[27]

They used to latch on to each other a lot when they were kids. He used to visit Tsukishima’s house every day, whether it was to watch a dinosaur movie or to exchange comic books or to pick flowers together. They were the same height back then, and they always held hands.

But then Tsukishima grew tall, his line of sight becoming so much higher.

His edges sharpened, and he became so much more stingy. From small, enthusiastic child, he’d turned into lean, cold teenager.

Eventually, they let go of each other’s fingers.

So many things began to change.

Hinata sighs. Maybe being childhood friends isn’t that easy.

 

It feels uneasy, it’s kinda embarrassing.

 

[32]

“So, how was that movie, Hinata?” Tanaka ruffles his hair.

“Tanaka-san!”

“Hey.”

“It was so cool! Like bwah! There’s this one part where this kid is falling from the top of a building because the bad guy pushed her off, and it’s so scary! But then the heroine comes just in time and catches her, and it was like gwaaah, whoosh –”

“You went with your friend, right?”

“Oh, Kei? Yeah. He’s not really into action movies, but he liked it.”

“Can’t believe you two are friends.”

“Just childhood buddies,” Hinata says, but his face reddens.

“Well, I’m glad you liked it. I gotta see it some time. Oh, that reminds me, I went with Noya to this amusement park.”

“Oh, tell me more about it!”

“Well, for one thing, we got into one of those competitions where, you know, there’s like this button thing, and you have to hit with a hammer and it measures how hard you hit –”

“Those!! Wow, how’d he do?” Hinata leans in closer, excited.

“There was a lot of people trying it out, but Noya went against this one gorgeous girl.”

“And?” Hinata nods excitedly, and, in doing so, catches sight of Tsukishima standing further down the empty hallway.

What is he doing there? He cocks his head to the side and waves at Tsukishima.

Tsukishima wears an unreadable expression, which is strange, because Hinata can read every one of his feelings. When he sees Hinata looking at him, he stiffens and waves coldly back.

Hinata frowns, shrugs, and returns his attention to Tanaka.

“And Noya was just completely overpowered. That girl, Kiyoko, literally kicked his ass. Oh my god, he loved it. Seriously. You should have seen his face.” Tanaka chortles, and Hinata giggles at the sheer ridiculousness of his senpai. Tanaka catches his attention again, setting his hand on Hinata’s shoulder, to make another ridiculous face, sending him into a fit of laughter again.

By the time he catches his breath, Tsukishima’s gone.

 

He later thinks about it. That expression was like the time – the disappointment when Tsukishima didn’t win that lottery for free amusement park tickets seven years ago, or the frustration when someone stole and misplaced his glasses two years ago, or the envy when that one girl beat him in highest test scores last year.

 

Hinata doesn’t understand.

 

[36]

“It’s getting dark, so it’s dangerous,” Tsukishima comments as the two walk home.

“Hey, I’m being treated like a kid?” Hinata protests, his voice especially loud in the silent street. “You don’t have to lecture me; I know!”

“You’re probably not going to keep this up, anyways.” That comment, out of all the snide comments Tsukishima has been making tonight, irks Hinata the most of all. He makes a face, punches his arm, then speeds up his pace.

“Yeah, yeah, just watch me!”

 

[40]

Is it because it’s _him_ , that Hinata can so relaxed?

Even though his heartbeat drums frantically under his skin and he wants to tell Tsukishima right there but he can’t, laughing comes easier than ever – even if Tsukishima, that asshole, still makes him mad.

 

[50]

This is it, Hinata Shouyo.

 

[51]

As the sun sets for the fifty-first time, two shadows stand side-by-side on the hill.

“So that’s that,” Hinata says, attempting to sound casual when his blood screams and his legs shake. “So, that’s, that. Yeah.”

“Who’d you fall for this time? I’ll help out,” Tsukishima says and grins. “Come on, I’m always here for you. Is it that Tanaka guy?”

“No, well...” Hinata faces him and studies his face tensely. It’s a smiling Tsukishima, but there’s something off, and it’s that detail that gives him hopeful courage to continue.

Here he goes.

Hinata grabs a startled Tsukishima’s hand and squeezes.

 

“This is why – This is why I fell in love with you!”

 

For a second, he’s too afraid to look and stares at the ground, but he takes a deep breath and looks up.  

Tsukishima's spluttering, and his face turns red. “Well, uh –”

Hinata can’t help but smile – the way he hides his embarrassment never changes.

But even in that moment, he realises he loves that part of Tsukishima too. Even the part of him that’s kinda – no, _really_ an asshole, even that part that makes him want to tear out his hair sometimes.

“So, uh, what is it?”

Tsukishima closes his eyes, opens his mouth, and squeezes his hand back.

“...you’re really late.”

Hinata laughs, trying to pretend he doesn’t have tiny tears in his eyes.

“So that’s a yes?”

“Of course, you – you!” Tsukishima shakes his head, then uses his other hand to pull at Hinata’s warm cheek.

“Wait, don’t pinch me!”

**Author's Note:**

> tsukihina is so good ! wt? F
> 
> thanks for reading!
> 
>  
> 
> hit me up @ [my tumblr](http://kash1ma.tumblr.com)


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